Dog Food (PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD, 5)

If you think living, breathing puppies are cute, wait until you see this fabulous book of photographs of fruit-and-vegetable dogs. Yes, Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers (Play with Your Food, How Are You Peeling?, One Lonely Seahorse) are back, with one of their best efforts to date. Not only are the doggies themselves endearing and clever (the broccoli-tufted French poodle is pure genius), but the wordplay and visual punch lines are terrific as well. "Chilly dog," crafted from a potato, shivers next to a mushroom snowman. "Dog bowl," contrary to what you might envision, is a dog made out of a radish, with a black olive on its paw, poised to topple banana-tip bowling pins. "Dog catcher," reveals a jalapeño dachshund catching a squash Frisbee in midair. "Let sleeping dogs lie" you say? There they are, sleepy, sleepy banana peel dogs at the end. The eye-popping endpapers showcase the entire kennel of creations on a bright turquoise background. This immensely appealing book will be irresistible to almost any human, but dog (and produce) lovers will sprout wings and zoom skyward. (Ages 4 to 104) --Karin Snelson